Two of Them
by OnAWhim28
Summary: The team is in for a surprise when Edgerton is called in to help catch a sniper.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: And it didn't take long to start my second fanfiction. Yes I love the Ian Edgerton character. He doesn't get enough screen time so I guess it's up to the fanfiction universe. Just as a warning- I have no idea where I am going with this yet, the first part came to me and I just thought to jot it down :) Oh, and this is not tagged to the sniper zero episode but slightly inspired by it. It would probably fit somewhere in season 2 or 3 as Colby is here (and come on, how can we have a story without him?).

All the usual disclaimers. I own nothing and can only claim the OC. Also making no money off of this, otherwise I would quit my day job.

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Don strolled into the bullpen half awake. The team was in overdrive trying to find a sniper that was terrorizing downtown LA. There had been three shootings in the span of a week. The incidents were occurring at random locations, and the victims were as random as well. And the whole team knew how Charlie felt about randomness.

His kid brother was driving himself crazy staring at maps and scribbling equation after equation on the board. After witnessing Charlie nearly faint from exhaustion, Don had immediately called in reinforcements. Help came in the form of the bastard son of John Wayne and Yoda. Don hated having to beg the higher ups to call Edgerton off of a manhunt in the Aleppo Mountains, but there was no one more qualified in Don's eyes to get control of this case.

Ian had arrived three days ago, having not even stopped in a hotel to change. His hiking boots were still covered in mud, and as he breezed into the bullpen he simply had acknowledged "Eppes" as he picked up the file. Don watched the older man work. Ian scanned through the files quickly but was more interested in the maps Charlie had put together complete with trajectory projections, photos, and useful data such as the weather the day of the shooting. The information did little for Ian's already terse demeanor. Don remembered heading toward the man, only to have Ian turn on his heels stating that he needed to make some calls, and two days later they were no further into the case than when he had arrived.

As Don came around the corner he stopped short as his gaze caught sight of an unfamiliar figure residing in the conference room. "Hey Colby, David, who's that" gestured Don, drawing the agents attention to the conference room. Both David and Colby had confused expressions on their faces. "Well how long has she been there?"

His agents just turned toward each other, hoping the other one had the answer. Don wasn't really angry with them, everyone was exhausted. And the stranger would be hard pressed to get through the building's security without having been stopped. "Some crack team I've got here," smirked Don as he headed toward the conference room with Colby and David on his heels.

Swinging the conference door open, the three agents stepped into the room. The mystery woman was half perched on one of the tables. One long leg was resting firmly on the ground while the other was tucked up underneath her. The woman appeared to be in her early 30s. She wore khaki cargo pants, a dark green tank and a dark blue jacket. Don caught sight of a few bruises marring her warm skin tone. The bruises and cuts appeared just under her collar bone, and a few along the hairline, and Don was sure there were more hidden beneath the jacket and clothing.

"Can we help you?" The woman didn't respond to Don's inquiry. She didn't even look up from the folder she was holding. When Don realized she was holding a case file he took a step closer but stopped when he caught sight of what appeared to be a blade of some sort along the woman's waist band. "WHO are you" Don asked firmly. Again, no response. The woman's dark black hair masked most of her face, and she continued to ignore the FBI agents as she thumbed through the case file. Don nodded to Colby who backed out of the room, emerging moments later along a side entrance to the conference room.

Though there was still no acknowledgment from the stranger, Don had no doubt in his mind that she knew exactly where everyone in the room was. To him, the woman resembled a bored leopard, and Don was being careful not to get bit.

Don had only encountered this type of persona in one other person before and Don's hand instinctively went to his own gun, holstered on his side. Both Colby and David mirrored Don's movements. At that moment, the other leopard Don had in mind swept into the room, two coffees in hand. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you" remarked Ian nonchalantly.

"And why exactly is that Ian," retorted Don. It was really too early in the morning to be playing these games.

"Because" said Ian walking toward the woman, "she'd drop all three of you before you even got a shot off." That got a small snort out the mystery guest who finally looked up long enough to take the coffee that was being offered.

"Took you long enough."

"I'm here aren't I" said the woman who tilted her cheek to meet the kiss Ian planted there. David's eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head, and Colby's mouth was slightly open with his brows furrowed.

Ian's hand shot and grabbed the woman by the chin, raising her head slightly up and to the side. Don saw Ian was clearly eying the bruises on her body. Anger flashed in his eyes before he calmly asked "Forget to duck?"

"Bite me," came the swift retort.

Don didn't think anyone would survive talking to Edgerton that way, but the comment was only met with a smirk, as Ian calmly waited for a more detailed response with eyebrows raised. "Fine" said the woman in a huff, finally putting the folder down, and looked up to match Ian's gaze. "A little scuffle outside of Helmand Province. I'm not exactly sure where a bunch of locals got their hands on Russian grenades. Something to ask them next time I'm in town. And hence the delay. It took some convincing to get the medics to release me. Satisfied?"

"Not really."

"Would it help if I told you the Marines flattened the town after?"

"Hmmm, sounds like the jar heads saved me the trip." Ian said with a smile. "They are useful on occasion."

The woman just rolled her eyes and Ian took a position next to her leaning in to bump her shoulder a bit. Don just stared. These two were carrying on like there was no one else in the room and as though the conversation they just has was completely normal. They could have been talking about the weather.

Don cleared his throat, and he suddenly had two pairs of steely eyes fixed on him. He unintentionally shifted his weight nervously.

"Question Eppes," asked Ian, tilting his head to one side, enjoying Don's discomfort a little too much.

"Gonna fill us in here Ian?"

"Where are my manners?" Ian continued, clearly amused. "May I introduce Sophia Edgerton. My sister."

Now it was Don's turn to have his mouth on the floor. Colby summed up what everyone was thinking. "Holy crap there's two of them?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: "company" aka CIA.

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"I think we broke them. This is the team you speak so highly about?" Sophia looked up at her big brother with a disbelieving look on her face.

"They can be quite capable when they're functioning" came the reply.

"Um..how…what.." clambered Don shaking his head. His actions only served to prove Sophia's original statement.

"I think what Don here's trying to say is nice to meet you." David came to Don's rescue and stepped forward to shake Sophia's hand. Colby followed suite, "yeah, nice to meet you. Sorry, we are all just a bit surprised."

"What, you don't talk about me Ian? I'm crushed." Sophia pouted her lip at Ian.

"I'm going to regret calling you aren't I" said Ian shaking his head.

Sophia stood up, unfurling her other leg from the table. "You've missed me, admit it." Ian just smiled.

Don finally snapped out of his daze, his mind started piecing together a few things. There were only a few people that would be hanging around Helmand Province. Sophia clearly wasn't standard military issue. She could be from State but she didn't come across as someone with political ambition. Ian was not the sharing type, but they had grown close enough over the years that Don was sure he would have heard about a sister. But there hadn't been so much as a whisper. That left only one other option, and given who her brother was, it fit. "You're Company?"

Sophia whirled around to face Don, an innocent expression on her face. "No idea what you're talking about." As she went to pick up the file, the door swung open and Charlie rushed in. "There you guys are, oh….hello."

"You must be the Professor" said Sophia.

"Yes, um…" Charlie was desperately trying to place her.

"Ian's sister" said Don, Coby and David all at once.

"Wow, okay nice to meet you…" Charlie stuck his hand forward. Don gave Charlie credit for his gumption, and at how quick he had processed the information that had left him and his best agents relatively speechless. Sophia took the outstretched hand "Sophia" she said helpfully. She began to circle Charlie, looking him up and down appraisingly. Charlie started to fidget under her gaze and Don wasn't happy with his brother being toyed with. "My brother described you to a tee. Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about. Ian doesn't speak highly about too many people."

"Play nice Sophia." Sophia just raised her eyebrows and sauntered back to where her brother was. "Spoilsport."

"Not to break up the family reunion or anything, but why exactly did you call your sister Ian?" Don moved more into the room, closer to Charlie, and took a seat at one of the tables. Colby and David looked up expectantly. Even Charlie stayed silent for once. Before Ian had a chance to speak, Sophia jumped in.

"Because you have a problem Agent Eppes."

"You're thinking the same thing aren't you Sophia?" Ian had turned his attention onto his sister. "Mmmhuu" was all he got in the way of acknowledgment as she started thumbing through the file again, stopping to point something out to her brother. They were slipping back into their own little world.

"Care to share" said Don holding his arms out wide.

"You're looking for the Scotsman" supplied Sophia. "A sniper trained by MI6 who went a little trigger happy in the early says of Afghanistan. MI6 cut ties after an incident in one of the villages. He wasn't too happy about it and went freelance."

"That's all you got?" Don stood up, "We could have said that 15 minutes ago. Instead we wait around for you to catch up with your brother and give us a description when we could have been out hunting this guy."

Sophia was in front of Don in an instant. "I gave you more than you were ever able to come up with in a week. What the hell does my brother see in you?" Ian placed a hand on his sister's arm; his sister's temper was a force to be reckoned with.

Ian hadn't been thrilled when she entered the Company, but thought that it was better than having her deployed with the military. He, like most big brothers, wanted his sibling safe. But Sophia wasn't the stay at home type and she had become a VERY active agent. One of the best. Even though Ian was 12 years older than his baby sister, who had come as a bit of a surprise to his parents, he was thoroughly attached to her. Their childhood was alright, but not the easiest.

The family had struggled to make ends meet. Ian was the one who would make sure to save his school lunches in case he came home to find there wouldn't be any dinner that night, so his sister would have something to eat. Their mom ran off shortly after Ian joined the military, figuring she had one life to live and better get on with it. With only two people in the household, their dad was able to breathe a little easier and did his best to raise a young daughter, but it eventually all caught up to him and he died of a heart attack when Sophia was 17. Being her only surviving relative, Ian had brought her to live with him on base for the last year. Afterwards he transferred into the FBI in order to be more readily available to his sister. Even when he was out tracking someone for the Bureau in the middle of nowhere, she was one of the few people on earth who would be able to reach him, and one of the only ones the Bureau would disrupt a case for in order for Ian to get back to her if something ever happened.

Sophia was eerily like her older brother, but couldn't keep her temper in check as well as him. "Youth" Ian would say. When Ian had left home, Sophia had been mostly left to her own devices. Their father did their best. She worked hard for everything she achieved, and fought even harder for every ounce of the respect and the reputation she had earned at the Company, where it was still very much a man's world. Ian was keenly aware that being called out by Don Eppes wasn't something that would sit well with her.

Ian was eternally grateful for Charlie for redirecting the conversation. "So why do you think it's this 'Scotsman'? I would be very interested in how you reached your conclusion."

Sophia slowly turned her head towards Charlie without taking a step away from Don. "There are four people in the world that I know of who can make a shot like the one at your last crime scene. And two of those people are in this room." Sophia looked right at Don, letting that little bit of information sink in.

"Based on your conclusion, I'm surmising that one of the others is the 'Scotsman,' what about the other one" pressed Charlie.

"I left the Marines to hunt that asshole down in Helmand while I hightailed it to come help your asses out." Sophia snapped, never taking her eyes off of Don. Ian shook his head. This was going to be a problem. "I need to make some calls." Sophia turned sharply on her heels and out of the conference room.

Colby watched Sophia leave and he leaned into David whispering. "Don should be careful. I've got one guess as to who taught her to shoot." David tried to suppress a smile. David turned to chat with Don and Charlie about how to proceed. Ian watched as Colby's eyes followed his sister out of the room. He didn't miss the once over Colby had given her, just like he hadn't missed the comment Colby had just made.

Ian slid up behind Colby quietly, only to be noticed when he put a hand on the younger agent's shoulder. "You'd be right. And don't even think about it." Colby noticeably blanched and Ian patted his shoulder as he headed toward the door.

"Hey Ian?" Ian turned toward Sinclair. "When you said your sister could drop the three of us. You were just messing with us right?"

The smirk and glint in Ian's eyes said it all, and he exited the room to find his sister, leaving the remaining individuals to consider what was in store for them with the Edgerton siblings in town.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. I hope people like the story so far. I am starting to get a better idea of where I want to go with it. AIC=Agent in Charge.

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"Well I'll be the first one to admit it, didn't see that one coming." David sat down next to Don. "You have any idea?"

Don watched as Ian left the conference room, likely in search of his sister. One Edgerton could be frustrating enough, but two of them? "Not a clue, but that's Edgerton for you." Don lost sight of Ian, but noticed his youngest agent hadn't moved an inch. "You alright there Colb?"

"Yeah um sure" said Colby snapping out of whatever daze he was in. "Didn't see that one coming huh?"

Colby turned when David starting laughing. "Where's your head at man."

xxxx-xxxxx

Ian caught up to his sister just outside of the office. He knew she was angry. He had been having as much fun as she was riling up Eppes's team. It was too damn easy sometimes. But nobody likes being put off their game, especially on their home turf. She shouldn't have been surprised when Don had taken a swipe. Ian had the nagging suspicion that there was more to his sister's temper than Don Eppes, and it likely had to do with those bruises he was now getting a better view of.

Sophia had shucked off her jacket and was leaning against the building having a very intense conversation on her cell phone. Ian almost felt bad for whoever was on the other end. Without her jacket on, Ian saw more bruises dotting her arms and what looked to be a white bandage snaking around her waist that was poking out from under the tank top. The more Ian studied his young sibling, the worse she looked. Her brows were furrowed and she appeared to be favoring her left side. Sophia was a master at hiding things, but usually not from Ian, and he cursed himself for not noticing her pain earlier.

Sophia snapped her phone closed and shoved it in her pocket. "Friend of yours?" Her head whipped around at the sound of her brother's voice. Not that many people could sneak up on her like that, but then again, where did she think she learned most of her technique from?

"It's him alright. Guess who's in LA?"

Ian motioned his hand for her to continue. "The deputy director of MI6 arrived two days ago. Langley thinks he's the guy that pushed the Scotsman out." Ian leaned against the wall next to his sister. "Well that gives us a target and a motive. But why the shootings? What's he accomplishing? One shooting in LA, nobody's going to blink an eye. But three? With the same weapon?"

"That's what I was getting read in on. The location of the first shooting was where the meeting between the deputy director and several US agencies were going to take place."

"But…it got them to change locations didn't it?"

"Yep. Standard safety protocol kicked in."

"What about…"

"The second and third shootings?" Sophia finished for him. " The Agency doesn't have an answer on the second one. Maybe target practice. I don't think the Scotsman exactly on the sane side of the spectrum. But the third shooting got them to move their meeting place again. The meeting is supposed to take place tomorrow."

"What the hell are they thinking? They have to know it's him. He might as well have put up a flashing neon sign."

Sophia stared intently at her brother, waiting for him to catch on. "They're trying to draw him out. Son of a bitch."

"Yeah, and I think he want's them to know its him. He's itching for a fight. Looks like we are going to have an old fashioned western show down on our hands." Sophia smirked at her own comment but pain suddenly flashed across her face and her hand moved to her side.

"How bad" questioned Ian.

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are."

Conflicting emotions flickered through his sister's eyes. He knew she didn't like to appear weak, especially in front of him, though she knew he wouldn't give a damn. He reached out a hand for his sister and she allowed herself to be pulled in, tucking her head under his chin like she would when she was a child.

"Hurt's like a bitch." Ian chuckled a little at that.

"Didn't grenades go out with your generation? I mean seriously, who does that?" He just rolled his eyes at his sister's feeble attempt to change the subject by getting a rise out of him. She must really be hurting he thought, she's usually better at it.

"It was closer than I care to admit" Sophia eventually mumbled into his arm. Ian felt as if ice water had been injected into his veins and pulled his sister tight. Those assholes should be thanking God that the Marines finished them off before Ian had heard what happened.

"You're here now."

"And about to chase down a sniper with my brother. God, you ever think we're a bit crazy?"

"It's what makes us so fun" Ian quipped kissing the top of Sophia's head.

Colby came outside after security said they had thought they had seen Ian leave. He had been sent out to find the Edgertons' after Charlie started asking questions only Ian likely had the answer to, and their go to sniper wasn't answering his phone. They still weren't sure what role the female Edgerton was going to play in this or what her specialties even were, but Colby was sure they were numerous if her sibling was anything to go by. Don was clearly put off by her, but Colby found her fascinating, and he wouldn't say it out loud, but it was kind of fun watching his boss getting the run around up there.

Rounding the corner, Colby almost gave up on finding the pair. _Yeah, just go find the FBI's most skilled tracker'_ mused Colby. But he paused as he spotted his objective near the end of the building. The sight of the feared sniper with his arms wound protectively around his sister was unexpected. Ian was the legend Army Rangers told stories about, the one the FBI sent after the most hard to catch criminals. It was strange to think of "Edgerton" and "comforting" in the same sentence. But then again, everyone needs someone to keep going for and it was clear to Colby that Sophia meant everything to the man. Colby instantly pitied anyone that got between Ian and his sister. He seriously doubted they got to spend much time together, and didn't want to ruin the moment, but Don would womp him if he came back without them.

Ian caught sight of Colby immediately. The man was built like a linebacker. He shook his sister gently, knowing she would want to pull herself together before Colby got too close, preferring to come off as the steely professional she was.

"Um hey guys. Charlie's asking for you upstairs."

Ian pushed himself forward and slipped his sunglasses back on as he stepped out of the shade the wall had been providing. "Well let's not keep the professor waiting."

xxxx-xxxx

Upstairs Ian filled Don and the team in on what Sophia had learned. "And what exactly is her role in all of this going to be" asked Don glancing at Sophia.

"Her role is going to be taking this guy down" Sophia retored.

"Well we have your brother for that. And I thought the Agency couldn't conduct any active operations on US soil. So I think we've got it from here. Thanks for coming by."

Ian usually appreciated Don's no-bullshit attitude and way of handling things, but he was acting like a child who was upset at someone playing in his sandbox. Ian could put up with a lot of things, but he was not going to get stuck playing referee between the AIC and his sister.

"Give it a rest Eppes. You're really not going to like it if I choose sides in this one. And we need her, she's the only one that I have contact with who has caught sight of this guy before." Colby thought for one terrifying moment that Don was going to challenge Ian and he would have to step in, but Don didn't make a move.

Normally Sophia would get a bit riled at her brother stepping in like that. She could fight her own battles and he usually let her. But today she appreciated the save, and smiled inwardly at his protectiveness.

"Hate to break it to you Agent Eppes, but not your call." Sophia stood a bit behind her brother who hadn't moved away from Don. "My boss called your boss yada yada. I'm officially tasked to the FBI for the remained of this mission."

Don's eyebrows nearly flew out of his forehead and Colby didn't like the look that passed over his bosses face. "Under Ian's supervision," continued Sophia. "Not yours."

Thank God for small miracles thought Colby. But it made sense to have Sophia working with Ian, and it was a way for the Agency to keep a lid on their agent's involvement. Most of what Ian did was pretty under the radar, and the Bureau gave him a pretty wide range of latitude, so it would be rather easy to hide the fact that someone was working alongside him. A new individual suddenly joining team Eppes, a team that occasionally wound up in the spotlight, could prove difficult to hide.

"Fine by me" said Don in a huff as he made his way into the kitchen for some coffee. Sophia rolled her eyes, and Charlie started to worry about his brother's actions. Upsetting Ian's sister was probably not the best idea his brother ever had, as she looked like she could handle her own. But with Ian nearby, Charlie thought Don had lost his mind.

Ian followed Don, intending to put an end to this ridiculous bickering.

"Come off it Don, we need her here."

Ian was surprised at how fast Don rounded on him. But not so surprised that he gave up any ground. "Damn it Edgerton, you're infuriating you know that?"

"So I've been told. What's eating you?"

"You've been to my house, you've eaten meals with my family, you ever think to tell me you had a sister?"

"This is what your moping's about? I didn't take you as the sensitive type Eppes."

Don let out an exasperated groan. "I don't even know why I try."

"You ever think to ask?"

Don paused feeling like a complete idiot and ran his hands through his hair. It took him a while to speak, and he mumbled out something along the lines of "I just assumed…"

"Yeah well you know what they say."

"Look man…."

"Don't sweat it Eppes." Ian looked around the room, suddenly at a loss for words. He wasn't used to having anyone care about him other than his sister. Deciding to take a page out of his sister's playbook, he tried changing the topic.

"Well, now that our little girl scout meeting is over, I'm going to grab Sophia and have a little chat with our friends from across the pond."

Don nodded and watched Ian retreat back into the bullpen. He knew he was going to have to patch things up with Ian somehow. He respected the man and had come to think of his as something of a friend. Don wasn't used to being gotten the better of, let alone in his own building, but Sophia had managed to get under his skin. She had that in common with her brother, even if it was a little on the more immature side. But she was young. He realized that he might have something in common with the firecracker that was currently following Ian toward the elevator. Charlie could be a difficult sibling for anyone to handle, but he could hardly imagine what growing up with Ian Edgerton as a brother would be like.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. I had a bit of a brain freeze. I wasn't happy with how anything in this chapter was coming out. But I think I pulled it together and have the story back on track

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To say he was amused would be an understatement. Ian was leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed in front of him watching an MI6 officer step behind a desk in an attempt to put some distance between himself and the angry woman he was facing.

"Apparently the tea has gone to your head Barrington!" Sophia was spitting nails. "Just give us his God damn name already!" The officer kept looking at Ian as though he was going to step in at some point to help. But Ian wasn't about to interrupt his sister when she was on a roll. Plus, his silence and stare was starting to make the officer fidgety. M16 had the audacity to try and pull this stunt off on US territory without the help of the FBI or CIA, so he wasn't exactly feeling sorry for the officer having to deal with the CIA's seriously pissed off agent.

"This is not exactly your concern now…."

"Not our concern? Not our…It became our concern the moment you decided to let this play out on US soil. The Scotsman has eluded you at every turn, what makes you think you are going to pull this one off?" Sophia had finally sat down with her arms crossed, unconsciously mimicking her older sibling.

"He has shown his hand, he is here and he wants a fight. We are simply going to oblige him." Officer Barrington shifted in his seat. This particular CIA agent had always put him on edge. And the man behind her did nothing to help things either. The pair was quite unnerving.

"Without our help?"

"Well, that may have been an oversight on our part. Our apologies. You of course will be kept in the loop going forward but I can assure you we have the meeting site locked down. He isn't going to escape us this time." Sophia stood up and burst out of the room, leaving Ian to merely raise his eyebrows at the officer and trail after her.

Getting in the car, Ian turned toward his sister who was breathing heavier than normal. Her temper was trigger haired at the moment, which was dangerous for all parties involved. "Maybe it's too soon to have you back out there."

"Don't do that Ian, don't you fucking question my ability."

"Jesus Christ!" Ian rounded on his sister slamming a hand against the steering wheel causing Sophia to jump slightly. He rarely let his anger come through and certainly not at her. "You know damn well I'm not. And I didn't know what you were into when I called you. You're on edge. And I get it. You're pissed. You have every right to be. But you are no use to me out here if you can't get it together."

He pulled off his sunglasses to look his sister in the eye, trying to figure out where she was at. He was half tempted to drive her to the airport and put her on a plane to Hawaii or some such place for some much needed rest. But she was too like him. He had a better shot at getting a white rhino onto a commercial jet than his sister. Even if he managed to succeed, she would be back in the thick of it in no time. And he would much rather know what his sister was up to than have her running around LA attempting to end this on her own.

Sophia took in a few calming breaths. She knew her brother was right but she wasn't going to admit it. His ego was big enough already. "They're taking unnecessary risks Ian. They have tunnel vision when it comes to the Scotsman. I know what this man is capable of." She looked at her brother. "You know what happened in Thailand don't you?"

"I heard whispers of something."

"Of course you did." Sophia sighed. "He took out my asset in Bangkok. Up close and personal with a knife while I was pinned down by gunfire. She was a mother with two kids. I didn't even see him coming, but I sure as hell won't forget his face. I'm not going anywhere." You could cut the tension in the car with the proverbial knife. Sophia looked like she was waiting for Ian to throw her out of the car. No, that look on his sister's face wouldn't do at all he thought.

"Well alright then."

Ian faced forward and started the car and Sophia let out the breath she had been holding. When his sister sent her mind to something it was best not to get in her way. And they had a better shot of catching this guy with her. Revenge was a powerful tool when properly managed. But he knew others in the bureau would see it as a liability. Eppes for one. Ian had seen what revenge had done to him during the Hoyle case. Like Ian, Eppes could dance pretty close to the edge. The difference was that Ian knew how not to fall off. "I wouldn't…"

"Tell Eppes? Yeah I put that one together."

"We're going to need to work with them Sophia. They are much more familiar with LA than we are. And I have seen the professor pull off some pretty impressive tricks."

"Alright but I don't think I exactly made the best impression this morning. Any suggestions?"

"Food always works with them."

Oh! Pull over I'm hungry."

Ian just rolled his eyes at the giddy grin that graced his sister's face and pulled into the nearest drive thru. If only the bad guys could see his fearsome sister now.

xxxxxx-xxxxxxx

Colby's hand shot out in reflex as something came flying in his direction. He caught a whiff of the glorious smell emanating from the bag and looked up like a kid at Christmas. "You're my new favorite Edgerton" mumbled out Coby in between bites of his Cheeseburger as Sophia put the remaining food bags down. The rest of the team was close behind and scuffled for the remaining take out.

"A bit of a peace offering. Been a trying week," said Sophia, sitting down at an unoccupied desk.

David grabbed a drink and settled down with the rest of them. "Please, watching Don turn into a stuttering mess was the most fun I had all month. And you bring food. You're our new best friend."

"What was that David?" David nearly spit out his soda as Don rounded the corner with a smirk. He grabbed a burger and nodded his thanks to Sophia. Better than nothing she thought.

"Just telling Sophia here how great it is to have her working with us."

"That's what I thought. Leave your brother with the Brits?"

"No, he'll be up in a minute."

"Miss me Eppes?" Ian always had perfect timing. And Don struggled to hide his surprise at the sniper being right behind him.

"Well," said Ian as he slid into the remaining chair, "now what the gangs all here, we've got some news." Sophia and Ian filled the team in on their meeting with M16. They were also able to confirm that they had their meeting place locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

"So do you think this Scotsman is crazy enough to try to get into the meeting" asked Don.

"He's crazy but not suicidal." Sophia took another bite of her burger. Ian could see the wheels spinning in his sister's head.

"But why the shootings then" said Colby. "I mean, what's the purpose of getting them to change locations?"

"I think I have the answer to that." Charlie came bursting into the room, maps and pens in hand. Colby jumped up to help Charlie pin the maps up. The professor's curly hair bounced as he turned to face his now intrigued audience.

"We've been on the right track, but we made a mistake in the conclusion."

"What's he babbling on about," Sophia whispered to Colby. "Just wait for it" Colby whispered back. Ian tilted his head and smirked, remembering a similar conversation he had with Colby over the professors rambling.

"Here, let me show you."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: See, reviews make me post faster lol!

Glad that people seem to be enjoying the story. Just as a warning, this chapter covers some dark material that I did not anticipate. Consider this an M chapter. This is my longest chapter ever.

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Sophia was starting to understand why her brother was fond of the professor. She watched transfixed as the man darted back and forth between maps, occasionally stopping to make sure he hadn't lost anyone along the way. Sophia could tell that Charlie loved his work, and damn it all but his optimism almost had her believing that they were going to catch the Scotsman after all.

Charlie had managed to put the pieces of their puzzle together. The Scotsman hadn't been forcing the Brits to change to a better suited location for an ambush, he had been getting them to reveal information. Every time the Brits changed the location of their meeting, the Scotsman was able to collect information on their numbers and their whereabouts. He was able to watch as the Brits moved materials for their meeting from one location to the next. He was also able to follow them along their routes. This meant that he was able to figure out not only the hardware his foes had brought with them, but where they were staying at night, information that Sophia and Ian were not able to get out of their meeting with MI6. However, Charlie with some obscure formula had managed to pinpoint the likely place that the assistant director of MI6 was holed up in.

"He's been figuring out where they're vulnerable," concluded Charlie. "And with Sophia's knowledge about the Scotsman, I can come up with a reasonable probability about where he is going to strike."

Everyone's eyes turned to Sophia who hadn't made so much as a peep during Charlie's lecture. She suddenly looked up when she realized she was being watched. Her mind was on overdrive. She had never been so close to catching this man before and wanted to believe that this time was it. She wouldn't have to keep looking over her shoulder every time a case involved a sniper, or someone that could have ties to the Scotsman. Her heart began to race. Sophia knew her brother was going to start picking up on the fact that it wasn't just the recent scrape with a grenade that had her on edge. Ian could be a real pain that way. She couldn't get much by him.

She had told him the truth about Thailand. Well most of it. She had lost an asset that she was fond of, and Ian seemed to buy that the loss was what was motivating his younger sibling. For now at least. If he knew everything about Thailand she wasn't sure what he would do. So instead she plastered a wicked grin on her face.

"Let's get this son of a bitch."

xxxx—xxxxxx

Sophia and Charlie stayed in the conference room most of the night. Charlie clung to every word coming out of the CIA agent's mouth. Her knowledge of the Scotsman surpassed his expectations and provided him with the variables he needed to start calculating where the elusive sniper was going to strike.

Once Sophia's part was done, she watched as Charlie turned his attention to his boards. His hands flew across the surface as he slipped into his own world. Which was why Sophia was surprised when he finally spoke, never taking his eyes off the board.

"Why do you know so much about this man?"

"You need to know the players on the field. In my line of work you need to know what the other side is capable of."

"Well by your own statement, shouldn't your brother then have been able to answer these questions for me? Why did he bring you into it?"

When he didn't receive a reply he turned and found the younger Edgerton staring at him. Her lips were pursed and her hands were gripping the table. Charlie knew he wasn't the best at reading people, but he knew he had crossed some invisible line somewhere.

"Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?"

"All the time."

And with that she stood and swept out of the room, and Charlie couldn't help but be reminded of her brother. That thought stopped him cold. He had almost forgotten who this young woman was related to, and what she was likely capable of. If he had to guess, Sophia was probably just a couple of years younger than him and had probably seen more than her fair share. Something was clearly wrong but before he could think anymore about what transpired, Colby popped his head in.

"How's it going in here?"

"Um pretty good I think. I have this narrowed down and should be able to give you all a tight search parameter in the morning."

"That's great Charlie, I'll let Don know."

With Colby gone Charlie started to think about what to do with his concern. He could be worrying for nothing. After all, he hadn't had any encounters with CIA agents that he knew of, but he could imagine they were a bit jumpy and agitated in general. And Ian was a pretty reserved and private guy. His sister was probably the same way and didn't like being questioned.

On the other hand, if something was wrong, it could put the team in jeopardy. And Charlie had Don to think of, not to mention Colby and David. After the rocky start Don and Sophia had, he didn't want to cause any more problems if he could help it. So he decided to see if the one person who could confront Sophia was still in the building.

xxxx-xxxx

Sophia splashed some cold water on her face. She had taken refuge in the women's restroom after leaving Charlie. He looked scared she thought. She was furious at letting such a simple question get a rise out of her. It had been an innocent question. And a logical one. It would make sense that Ian would know just as much about the Scotsman as she did.

Ian likely thought she knew more about the Scotsman because she had access to the Agency's databases and had seen him in person before. Of course it wasn't the fact that she had been spending the last two years of her life scouring for every bit of information on him in an attempt to track him down. But if Ian knew…hell, if anyone knew, she would likely be benched. She had fought too damn hard the get where she was and had managed to keep it together for this long. The fact that Charlie's innocent question had gotten to her disturbed the CIA agent. Maybe the stress of what had happened in Helmand combined with the subject matter of this case was too much. Maybe Ian was right….

No. This wasn't going to take her out of the game. Sophia stared at herself in the mirror. The bags under her eyes may be showing, and she may be exhausted, but she had pulled it together before. And she was going to see this one through. But she knew Charlie was inquisitive and would likely search for some kind of answer. She just didn't count on how quickly he would act. So when she opened the door to find her brother standing there…. well shit.

Ian grabbed a hold of Sophia's arm as soon as he saw her. Charlie's concerns were the final nail in the coffin for Ian. He had started to realize Sophia wasn't telling him everything. She was far too agitated and haggard for this to be just the loss of an asset two years ago. Sure it was upsetting, but she knew the risk, and he knew she had just come out of a war zone, but he knew his sibling. Hell, he had pretty much raised her.

The sister he knew was tough as nails. She wasn't distracted, and while she had a legendary temper, these last few days bordered on something else entirely. Steering her into an empty office, Ian shut the door behind him and waited patiently for her to say something. Anything.

Sophia didn't liked feeling trapped, and right now, this felt like an ambush. Looking angrily at her brother for his nerve she tried to shove her way past him only to be pushed back into the room. Her throat began to tighten and she started at her brother again. She felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. No, No NO she thought. This wasn't happening. She wasn't going to have a panic attack in front of her brother of all people.

"Get out of my way Ian." She tried moving past her larger sibling again and when he grabbed both of her arms she lashed out on reflex.

Ian didn't know what he was expecting, but not this. His sister twisted in his grasp trying desperately to get lose. She knew how to fight, she was highly trained. He knew he could best her, he was far more experienced and stronger, but she wasn't even trying. Instead, this was something closer to panic. He tried to hold her still, but when he saw the fear in her eyes he instantly let go of her as though she had burned him.

As soon as she felt her brother's grip go Sophia was on the other side of the room. Ian still stood in the door blocking her only exit. Her breathing was labored and she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. Had it really come to this she thought? Was she really this weak?

Ian took a slow step forward. When Sophia stepped backwards as if on reflex, he felt a knife pierce his heart. She had never been scared of him before. And she looked terrified.

"Sophia? Sophia" Ian said gently trying to get her to look at him. He stepped forward again, only to have her put up her hand. "Please Ian just go."

"You know I'm not going to do that Soph," said Ian, using his childhood name for her. "You have to help me here, what's going on? Please."

Sophia couldn't remember the last time she had heard her brother say something that sounded anything akin to begging. She wanted to tell him, but she felt weak. And she was anything but. She had built up walls for so long that the last person she wanted to talk to right now was the one person she knew in her heart would stand by her. But her brother was Ian Edgerton. Sniper Legend, the bastard son of John Wayne and Yoda. How could she tell him that she had let someone get to her? She had let someone make her vulnerable. And in their line of work it was unacceptable in her mind.

"No Ian, I'm not discussing this with you. Please, leave." She had intended her statement to come out much more forcefully, but it left her mouth as a whimper.

Ian was at a complete loss. His mind was running every scenario in his head, each one worse than before. He had seen this fear on others. But to see the look on his sister's face. Ian nearly gulped as he remembered something that had transpired at the MI6 meeting.

"Why did you want to know his name?"

"Because I want the name of the motherfucking bastard," shouted Sophia. Pure rage swept across her features. Her hands began to gesture wildly as she continued. "I want the name of the piece of shit that killed by asset. And I want to be able to put a name to the face that threatened me. I want the name of the man who can make me absolutely lose it in front of my brother!" Sophia was shaking. Ian had never seen her like this. He felt numb, he had never felt so helpless before and was terrified at where this was heading.

"What did he do Sophia," pressed Ian.

"He did not rape me, I know what your thinking, but he didn't rape me." Sophia slumped against the wall and slid down until she was seated on the floor. She watched as her brother breathed for what seemed like the first time since they entered the tiny room.

"But…" Sophia has spoken so quietly that Ian had barely recognized she had said something.

Her brother looked so helpless that it frightened her and the whole story came spilling out.

xxxx-xxxx

After watching her asset be gutted, Sophia had raced to get the asset's children out of the country. She set up transport for both of them and had headed back to the hotel. She couldn't believe she had lost the woman. And right in front of her. It pained Sophia to watch as this woman died, she wasn't heartless. But both she and the asset had known the risks. And Sophia did what she could to make sure the children were safe, which had been the only thing she had promised her asset she would do. The man had come out of nowhere. When she reached out to the Agency to let them know what had happened they delved into it to figure out who this mystery man was. They eventually got back to her with a name, the Scotsman.

Stepping out of the shower, Sophia had wrapped a towel around her and headed toward the bed, determined to get the day out of her mind. Tomorrow was another day. Lost in her own thoughts she had almost missed the fact that the door to the balcony was open. But it was too late. She didn't have time to go for her gun that was safely stashed under the pillow, and the knife at her neck was placed so firmly that any move would cause a cut she wouldn't recover from.

"Hello Love."

The voice had sent a chill down her spine. Trying to come up with a retort she was merely shushed by the man she was currently pinned to.

"Now now, no need for conversation dear." She didn't need to see the reflection in the mirror to know who had held the knife against her throat. It was the same man who had killed her asset only a few hours ago.

"I should really congratulate the CIA for getting much prettier handlers." His free hand dropped to her thigh and began to run up it, bunching the towel against her waist. He had placed a kiss at the back of her neck as he pulled the towel slightly, letting it fall off of her. Sophia was determined to not let this asshole see her embarrassment but she couldn't help the shiver that wracked her body.

She was a fighter, but she had stood paralyzed as his hand roamed her body. She didn't understand why she wasn't fighting back, why even her own voice betrayed her. She had heard stories from other female agents about what they had faced in the field. She wasn't an idiot, she knew she may face something like this. But in all honesty she had never thought it would happen to her. Feeling powerless was not something she was used to, and she hated it.

"This is not a game for women" said the intruder as he took a whiff of her freshly washed hair. When she started to fidget he pushed the blade closer into her skin. "Consider this your second chance love, go home. Or the next time I see you…" He had moved the blade to her stomach and ran it upwards over her skin, mimicking what he had done to her asset.

As suddenly as he appeared he was gone. Sophia didn't even bother going for her gun, but collapsed on the floor, disgusted with herself that she had let him get the drop on her. That she hadn't fought back.

When she got back to Langley she had left what had happened out of the report. She was scared about how her bosses would react. She didn't want to be seen as a liability. She had worked too damn hard to be seen as incompetent. She eventually saw someone away from the Company. She had heard of this therapist from others that didn't want the Company to know their business, and with the therapists help came to accept the fact that she went through something traumatic. That it was okay to be upset, and that her reaction had been completely natural given that she had a knife at her throat wielded by a man who had gutted another woman just hours prior. She had survived.

xxxx-xxxx

Ian was heartbroken that his sister had gone through all of that and had kept it to herself all of these years. He would never have guessed. She was better at hiding things from him that he thought.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Ian asked as he rested on his haunches. He may have brought himself down to her level, but he hadn't come closer to his sister, waiting for her to move instead.

"It had nothing to do with you, and you had enough on your plate." She finally looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I had to figure this one out for myself Ian."

Ian took it as a sign he could come closer and sat down on the floor next to Sophia and she let her head fall against his shoulder. "I guess I'm not quite over it. I thought I had it under control."

"PTSD. I've seen it in soldiers. It's not surprising with what you went through. And nothing, NOTHING, to be ashamed of."

"I know."

Ian slowly put his arm around her, not wanting to spook her. His rage was starting to build as he replayed Sophia's story in his head.

"And I know just how to get over it."

Sophia turned her head to look up at Ian, she had thought he would send her away for sure, preferring to handle this on his own, but she liked where this was headed.

"We'll get him together."

And she smiled.

* * *

A/N: So I seriously did not anticipate taking this story down this path, but here we are. I know I didn't take the angle very far but I feel it is important to state the obvious that sexual assault is a serious matter that is a plague around the world. It is a hard topic to discuss. But it needs to be addressed. What happened is never the survivor's fault and if you or someone you know has been the victim of an assault, know that it is okay to seek help. There are people that will be there for you.

-Also, this is a story. It is not okay to take revenge into your own hands. Let the proper authorities handle it.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews. I'm happy with how this story is shaping up. As usual, there are a few changes in POV here so hang on! I am anticipating one more chapter, possibly two.

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Ian sat in the empty bullpen in silence. He had stayed with his sister most of the night in that small room and it was approaching dawn. Sophia's exhaustion finally took over and she had gone back to her hotel room to get some rest; she hadn't even fought him at the suggestion. He thanked whatever deity was listening that what had happened to his sister wasn't worse, but he was still fuming. Sophia seemed to be most upset at the fact that she hadn't fought back, that she froze. She had felt powerless in the moment, and Ian understood why that bothered her. The Edgerton siblings were not used to feeling "weak."

What had Ian's stomach churning was the thought of the Scotsman having his hands on his sister in more ways than one. Sophia had seemed only embarrassed by it; he remembered the blush in her cheeks and the fact that she couldn't meet his eye when she had told him that part. But the fact that she thought it wasn't surprising given what other women had told her on the job disturbed him. It wasn't "okay" and it certainly wasn't something she should consider "normal." No woman should go through that. And he believed that in truth, it was probably what was making her jumpy at the thought of facing the Scotsman again. Otherwise, he believed his sister would be all over the opportunity of proving herself against her foe. She loved a challenge.

He knew that his sister should be off this case. Both the CIA and the FBI would insist upon it if they knew the full story. They wouldn't take the risk that the incident was clouding her judgment. But Ian knew that if he went to any of their superiors with this his sister would never speak to him again. All trust would be broken. And if she simply stopped working on this case, the higher ups would ask questions, not to mention Don and his team.

Ian was one to skirt the rules when it suited him, and this seemed to be one of those moments. He could keep an eye on his sister and give her the chance to be a part of wrapping this up for good. The Scotsman would be dealt with. Dead or alive, it didn't matter to Ian. But if the Scotsman gave him the excuse, he would have no trouble putting a bullet in his head.

xxxx-xxxx

After catching some sleep on the couch in the FBI's makeshift kitchen, Ian went straight for the necessities. Coffee.

He prepared two cups and waited for the person he would know would be first through the door.

"Hey Ian." Don strode into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised when Ian slid a fully poured cup of coffee across the counter. "Thanks."

Don took a swig from the cup and Ian could tell he was contemplating something. Ian knew Charlie probably ended up going to Don and Ian was prepared for this. "So, how's your sister," Don asked with both eyebrows raised as he took a sip. Don was not as subtle as he liked to think.

"Charlie?" Ian inquired.

"Yeah, he came to me last night. To be fair he's just looking out for the team. Including Sophia. He said she was a bit agitated. He was worried it was something he said."

"I talked to her Don. She's just tired. I sent her back to the hotel for some rest. I don't think she's gotten any since she arrived."

"Makes sense." Don took another swig of the coffee taking a hard look at Ian. Ian was about to open his mouth and give Don something halfway to the truth about what was eating his sister, but Don beat him to it.

"Look man, if you say she's good, she's good. I trust you."

Ian dipped his head in acknowledgment. The two continued to drink their coffee in silence as the bullpen started to fill up. Suddenly Charlie burst into the room, looking like he had gotten no sleep at all. "I've got it," Charlie sputtered out trying to catch his breath.

"Slow down buddy what do you got?"

"Him, the Scotsman I mean. I know where he's going to be." And with that both Don and Ian flew out of the room to gather the team.

xxxx-xxxx

Colby watched as Sophia and Ian prepared. There was something mesmerizing about watching the two of them work. He had noticed it on day one. They were able to communicate without speaking, move around each other in unison, hell Sophia was even handing Ian gear before he asked for it. Colby had only seen that type of teamwork in combat military units that had been working with each other for years.

Ian had stepped out of the room to take a call, leaving just Colby and Sophia to put the last bits of gear together. Colby kept stealing glances and the woman next to him. She was all power but moved with a grace Colby could only hope to one day possess. He should have known better to think he wouldn't get caught though.

"Like what you see?" Colby could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Yes," said Colby faster than he could think. That earned him a grin but he immediately became engrossed in rearranging his gear as Ian came back into the room and Sophia chuckled. Pretending to hand Colby something Sophia leaned in to whisper. "He really is more bark than bite."

"Maybe to you he is, but I've seen his bark and his bite."

Sophia's breath was hot on his ear. "Too bad, I would have made it worth the risk."

Colby honest to God blushed and quickly turned to check his gear for the hundredth time while he got his breathing in check.

xxxx-xxxx

Sophia was smiling to herself as she watched Colby from the rearview mirror. Being the sister of the feared FBI sniper had its perks so she wasn't challenged when she took the front seat next to her brother. The rest of the team had piled in the back. It had been fun to flirt a bit with Colby. He was kind of adorable she thought. And that figure wasn't bad to look at either. She wasn't surprised when Ian had told her he was a former Army Ranger. The military guys always held an attraction for her.

Sophia's mind found its way back to last night. She was feeling much better after pouring everything out to her brother. She now could hardly fathom why it took her so long to have done so. Ian had never turned his back on her and wasn't about to start. Going after the Scotsman with her big brother by her side made her feel invincible. The Scotsman wouldn't know what hit him.

Charlie had given a high probability to the Assistant Director being targeted in his hotel. As there was no underground garage, it could be as he was leaving, or the Scotsman could try to pick him off from his hotel room, Charlie wasn't quite sure on that particular aspect. What he was confident about was the Scotsman using a long range rifle from one of three buildings in the nearby vicinity. Don made the call not to alert MI6 as he was concerned that a sudden change in activity could spook their target into changing plans last minute, and there was no time to set up a decoy, or at least one that could fool the Scotsman.

Ian pulled the SUV up to the middle of the three buildings they were going to need to search. Colby and David paired off as always to search the building to the west. Ian preferred to hunt alone and would take the first building to the east. For a brief second Sophia was about to protest, preferring to have her brother by her side for this one, but she knew wherever he was he would have her back and it was a better allocation of resources to split the two up. She watched as Ian quickly disappeared between the buildings. That left her and Don. She felt his eyes watching her warily as she pulled out her own rifle.

"You know, I may not be as good as my brother with this thing, but you can bet that I hit my mark."

"I don't doubt it" said Don. "Let's do this."

The two bounded into the service entrance of the building they had pulled up to. They held back only for a moment to allow the other two teams to reach their respective buildings. She got into the service elevator with Don and they headed to the roof without a word.

Stepping off the elevator the pair climbed the short stair case to the roof. Stepping outside, Don motioned for Sophia to take the left as he proceeded to the right. Immediately Sophia realized they had a problem. The back half of the building was obscured by heavy machinery such as the buildings cooling system and another towering building to their right. She had no clear line of sight to the other buildings the other team members were in, meaning they couldn't see her or Don either.

Slinging her rifle onto her back, Sophia switched to her handgun and cut between the air conditioning units to find Don. Catching sight of him she stopped cold. The man that had haunted her thoughts for the last two years had emerged from behind a pile of debris and was aiming straight for Don. Seeing no clear shot she used the one thing she had to her advantage, surprise. She ran full speed at Don, emerging from behind the air-conditioning unit, slamming into him at full force to knock him out of the Scotsman's path.

Don let out an audible "umphh" as she hit him. The two went tumbling hard into the ground. Don stumbled toward his gun which had gone skidding across the concrete as Sophia reached for hers and rushed to regain her footing. She had forgotten how fast the Scotsman was though and she was disarmed as a strong arm wrapped around her neck. She reached for the rifle on her back but she was pinned tightly to the man behind her. The struggling ceased the moment cold metal pressed against her temple.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise." The Scotsman thick accent sent her back to that hotel room two years ago as she felt his breath on her neck. And for a moment, she felt the cold paralyze her body once more. It was Don that snapped her out of it.

"Let her go." She heard Don call out. He was trying desperately to find a shot.

 _Don't shoot don't shoot_ willed Sophia. She had no doubt Don was an excellent shot but she knew there was no way he would get a shot off before the Scotsman managed to blow her brains across the rooftop.

The Scotsman barely acknowledged Don's presence except for the fact that he made sure to hold Sophia directly in front of him. "Seems we have been here before love. FBI bringing the CIA in to handle their dirty work now are they? You should have headed my warning two years ago."

"What can I say, I'm stubborn" she bit out.

As Don took a step forward, the Scotsman started walking her backwards, toward the front of the building, keeping distance between himself and Don. A misogynist to the end she thought. He clearly saw Don as the bigger threat. _Keep going_ thought Sophia.

"Are you really this cliché that you had to track down your old boss? Let it go already, I've seen this movie" taunted Sophia.

"I don't remember you this mouthy love, I have to say I like the spark" he snarled in her ear. "You really should have listened, I make good on my promises. Too bad the knife's at home. I hate to ruin a pretty face. But this will have to do."

She felt the cold steel press harder into her temple. Don held his ground but she could see the panic in his eyes. She wanted to tell him it would be okay. But she had no idea if this crazy plan would work, and even if it did Ian was likely to kill her himself.

Sophia knew she had to bide just a few more seconds as they emerged near the front of the roof which was facing the hotel. The Scotsman had a huge ego, and if this was going to be her last stand she was going to get a few more jabs in at least. "Hate to break it to you asshole, but you should have stayed home, you finally made a mistake."

"Really, what's that," he replied menacingly.

"Well you weren't counting on me having a brother were you?" And with that Sophia slammed her head back as hard as she could and then flung it forward. She heard the unmistakable crack of gunfire, her body felt like it was on fire as she felt hot metal tear through her, and she collapsed onto the concrete.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: And here ends another story! Ian was difficult to write as the show doesn't give you much to work with outside of his few appearances so I know he probably seems out of character. So this was definitely my own take by throwing a sibling into the mix, while trying to catch some of his personality from the show. Thank you to all that have followed along!

* * *

Sophia felt herself being hoisted into a seated position. Her vision swam and she fought the urge to vomit. The face of Don Eppes started to take shape as her vision began to clear. She could see his lips move but other than that she was at a loss. The ringing in her ears was intense. She shook her head to indicate she didn't understand and instantly regretted it and put both hands to her ears praying it would stop.

The movement caused her even more pain and she rocked forward. Eppes steadied her and he moved behind her so she could lean against him. She realized his hand was clamped against her shoulder and she looked down to see red seeping through. _What the hell_ she thought.

The last few moments came flooding back. The cool of the gun against her temple, head butting a psycho, the crack of a firearm, wait… Sophia lifted her good arm and gingerly touched the back of her head to find something warm and sticky. Bringing it forward her hand was stained red. _But I'm alive, wait what…_ she felt Don hold her more tightly as he was likely able to sense her distress.

"You're okay, I've got you," the garbled voice of Don was finally starting to come through.

Sophia tilted her head.

"Can you hear me?" Sophia nodded. "It's not yours," Don continued. _Huhh_ then whose was it?

Sophia nearly jumped as the final piece of the puzzle came to the forefront of her mind. quickly scanned the area. Sprawled out on the concrete was the Scotsman. Blood smeared his mouth from her head butt, but what Sophia was more transfixed by was the pool of blood growing in size like a perverse halo around the Scotsman's head caused by a perfectly placed bullet.

Her relief was short lived. _That actually worked?_ Oh Ian was going to kill her.

"Sophia" called out Eppes and he shook her as her vision started to fade again.

"No need to shout Eppes," Sophia moaned. Ughh she felt like she had been hit by a bus. She suddenly remembered body checking Eppes. No wonder she thought.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Sophia could hear the tension in his voice.

"That I was saving your life."

"What, just to have your brother kill me?"

"Ha" Sophia rasped out. "I knew if I could give Ian enough room he could make the shot."

"So your bright idea was to head butt a guy with a gun to your head." The disbelief and tiniest bit of admiration shown through Don's voice.

"It worked didn't it? It gave Ian enough space between my head and the Scotsman…"

"It also forced him to take the shot; that guy would have blown your brains out had he recovered."

"Yeah, I doubt Ian will be too thrilled about that."

Sophia started to twist in an effort to stand up. "Stay still you've been shot." Sophia wanted to retort that she had pieced that one together, but her body would just not obey. "The Scotsman's gun slipped when you hit him, but he managed to get a shot off though before Ian ended him, it's a through and though."

The bastard had always been fast she thought. "That wasn't part of the plan" she mumbled.

"Come on stay awake Sophia. Hey Colby, where's that bus?"

Sophia finally noticed Colby and David on the rooftop. Damn, when they arrived? She must really be out of it she mused. That just left…

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING" roared her brother who bounded around the corner and was at her side in an instant to check her injuries.

That seems to be the question of the day. "That I hoped by big brother's aim hadn't been affected by his advancing age" she smiled.

Ian let out a choked laugh as he crushed her to him.

"Owww, Ian."

Ian let go slightly. "Don't you dare pull something so incredibly …" he started.

"I can promise you I'm not planning on doing that again. I mean, shot at, nearly blown up, and actually shot. There's only so much a girl can take in a week." She weekly smiled.

"Yeah, I think this one's going to be just fine," said Don.

Don moved so Ian could take his place next to his sister and went to join Colby and David as the medics arrived on scene.

xxxx-xxxx

A few weeks later Sophia stood on the tarmac with Ian getting ready to board a C130 to Berlin. Don was there as well but was hanging back a bit. Ian had managed to convince Sophia's superiors to let her recover in LA. It had been a trying couple of weeks after all for her, and the Agency had been pleased that the Scotsman had been put down so they saw little harm in giving their prized agent some time off.

The hospital staff had patched her up nicely. She had a pretty serious concussion and needed surgery to stitch up her arm, but had recovered quickly and was soon released. The staff had initially pestered her with questions about the other scars on her body, but one look from Ian shut them up pretty quickly. And no doubt the hospital had been visited by a CIA cleaner, who would have swooped in to gather all of her medical records and erase any trace of the fact that she had been there. She had never been in LA in the first place right? Let alone on a rooftop with the most wanted man on MI6's radar.

Speaking of the Brits, they had been as appreciative as the British could be over a bunch of American's cleaning up their mess. The body of the Scotsman had been turned over to them for disposal and Sophia half hoped they would just chuck it into the Themes upon their return.

Taking a look at her brother who stood silently beside her, eyes hidden behind those sun glasses of his, she noticed the lines in his face for the first time in ages. This whole cluster had seemingly put a few years on him. Sophia normally operated in a separate, but not all that dissimilar world from Ian. But that meant she could usually control what information he received about her, and keep him from worrying. The vice versa was also likely true she thought. But this past week she had come crashing spectacularly into his world, and the over protective brother she had grown up with was back in full force. As they waited for the military to finish loading supplies onto the plane, she could read the worry that was all over his face, though he tried to mask it in a scowl. She leaned into him and he put his arm around her and gave her a smile that was reserved only for her.

For the longest time it had been just the two of them. But it seemed that over the past couple of weeks her family tripled in size. Alan Eppes had down right insisted that Sophia recover at the craftsman. No woman that had saved his eldest son's life was going to recover in a hotel room and without a home cooked meal. Even Don and Charlie seemed to be keeping a watchful eye on her, like two older brothers would, even though she could still easily kick their asses despite the shape she was in. At least when he was in LA, her brother had people, and that gave her a bit of comfort.

But after a week of Alan's mothering, Sophia had started to get antsy. Alan had nearly fainted when he found her sparing with her brother in the backyard. Ian had finally obliged her in a match so she could test out her range of motion and strength after being shot. A few days later Colby had actually shown up at the craftsman with two surfboards in tow.

Sophia knew how to surf so she was suspicious as to how Colby had come up with the idea to take her. After a heavy round of pestering in the car, Colby sheepishly admitted that Ian had told him and had actually suggested it, but that Colby had initially thought it was some kind of trap because of what Ian had told him the first day Sophia had shown up, so it had taken him a few days to act. Sophia had laughed when she heard that. She hadn't laughed that hard in ages. Colby looked smug when she told him that it meant Ian must actually liked him, because if Colby wanted to see her scary older brother, he should have been there when Sophia's date to senior prom had shown up at the house.

The half-day they had spent at the beach was not one she would forget soon. She hadn't had a day like that in ages and they had even topped it off with snow cones. Pulling back into the driveway of the craftsman, she rewarded Colby's bravery with a quick kiss as she slipped out of the car and into the Eppes's residence.

The call she knew would eventually come had arrived two days ago. The CIA needed her in Europe. At least it was a change of scenery from the sandbox she usually found herself in.

An airman approached the three and let her know she could get on board. "Don't be a stranger now." Don pulled Sophia in for a quick hug. They had covered a lot of ground since they first met.

"Try to keep an eye on my brother will you? He gets himself in worse scrapes than me." Ian snorted at his sister, as he looked over his sunglasses at her with a trademark smirk.

"I'll do my best," said Don with a roguish grin.

Ian pulled her into a hug and whispered, "stay out of trouble will you?"

"No promises" she whispered back and gave him a peck on the check as she slung her back over her good shoulder. She headed toward the plane as she heard Ian call out "Give 'em hell."

Turning back to him on last time, her smirk mirrored his. "I always do."

-End-


End file.
